Greg Rutherford is the European long jump champion after taking the gold medal
in Zurich

Greg Rutherford's set is almost complete. The Olympic and Commonwealth champion can now add the European title to his list of triumphs after blowing away the field in Zurich. He will be a man on a mission at next year's World Championships.

In truth he was barely troubled at the Letzigrund Stadium. Launching himself to the three longest jumps of the competition, Rutherford could justifiably have filled every spot on the podium. It was his fourth effort of 8.29m that secured the gold medal and ensured he did not even have to bother with his final two jumps.

The 27-year-old's season had already been an unmitigated success prior to his appearance in Zurich - not that he had received much credit for it. First the legitimacy of his national record-breaking jump of 8.51m in April was questioned by British team-mate Chris Tomlinson. Then, echoing the criticism that followed his Olympic-winning jump, which was the shortest in 40 years, he was maligned for claiming the Commonwealth title last month with another modest leap of 8.20m.

"In 50 years' time people won't look back and go: 'Oh, he only won the Commonwealths in 8.20m'," he had said after Glasgow. "Major championships are all about winning them."

That is exactly what Rutherford did. For his many doubters, it was Rutherford's third fluky title of the last two years.

"I'm the biggest fluke going. I keep doing this," he joked afterwards. "It's fantastic. It's great to go out there and put out a couple of half decent jumps and have another title. I had the luxury of four rounds and leaving it."

The task facing him at the European Championships was expected to be significantly harder than at last month's Commonwealth Games, thanks most notably to the presence of former European champion Christian Reif. The German came into the meeting ranked second in Europe having jumped 8.49m in May, a distance that Rutherford had only come within 14cm of once in his career. Reif had a shocking afternoon in the Zurich sun though, struggling to a best jump of 7.95m as Louis Tsatoumas of Greece took silver with 8.15m and France's Kafetien Gomis claimed bronze one centimetre further back.

Despite two titles and a national record, Rutherford says his overall emotion is one of disappointment at not following up his British record jump with another long leap.

"The whole year started off incredibly well and I'm really disappointed I didn't manage to get back to the sort of way I was jumping at the start of the year and I jumped 8.51m," he said.

"I've watched that video back multiple times now and I haven't quite got back to where I was there. I'm consistent and competitive and put me in any major championship and I'm going to raise my performance to the highest I possibly can. Fortunately I managed to take them today."

Fortune can strike once or maybe even twice. But three times in a row? Even the critics must accept Rutherford's ability now.